Jul 6, 2007 6:30 pm US/Eastern
Help For Family Of Gardener Killed By Lightning
Neighbors4Neighbors 305-597-4404
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PINECREST (CBS4) ―
The Canales family became the latest victim of Florida's severe weather when their father was struck by lightning and died, but thanks to Neighbors 4 Neighbors the family is feeling the love and generosity of the South Florida community.
On Friday, Neighbors4Neighbors received more than $10,000 in donations to help David Canales's family.
David operated his own landscaping business and worked for years in lawns and gardens of the Pinecrest area. His family and friends were stunned by his death, and even employers were saddened by the lightning strike that came from a rainless sky on June 21st.
"I'm happy to see so many people care, people not knowing us," said Canales's daughter Samantha. "It's amazing."
Reading and holding dozens of sympathy cards and notes sent by strangers after her husband's death, they bring even more tears to Castro's eyes as her daughter reads one of them.
"Dear Ms. Canales, we are so sorry for your loss. May God bless you and help you get through this," Samantha read out loud.
And the family does need help after losing their main breadwinner. After Canales died, the bills started piling up, but now the family will have some relief.
"He was the gardener of my parents for over 20 years, and he was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful man," said Margie Leon of Pinecrest.
A spokesman for Miami-Dade fire rescue said Canales was struck by lightning around 1 p.m. that day in the 10500 block of SW 62nd Ave. He died in South Miami Hospital.
Florida leads the nation in lightning strikes, and experts warn lightning can strike when it's not raining, can hit from a cloudless sky, and can even travel 10 miles or more before it hits.
With her father gone, Samantha is getting a summer job to make ends meet and her mother plans on working nights cleaning office buildings. Even though they are being helped financially, the emptiness of a home without a father or husband is deeply felt.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
